Grosset & Dunlap -- tpb
New York -- © 2007 -- 215pp
ISBN: 0448448351
Orphaned Benjamin closed his eyes, blew out the candle and wished with all his might. Soon after, sirens wailed all over the Wishwork Factory- Ben had followed every rule of birthday wishing to a T and hand made the most dangerous wish of all... a wish for UNLIMITED wishes.
#####
There were moments in this book that I found clever and even fun, but overall this book was tepid, uninspired.
I bought this book because the premise seemed real interesting -- a young boy makes the granddaddy of all wishes -- that he have an infinite number of wishes -- and because he did everything just right in the making of the wish, the wish came true, and of course, when a wish like that comes true, it wreaks havoc on those granting the wishes.
So, a good idea...what went wrong?
First, there's the story-telling itself. A lot of telling rather than showing. It came across as a lack of focus as to the age group that this was written for. On one hand, it seemed aimed at the youngest readers -- eight years old or so, but on the other hand, it had some themes that seemed targeted to the early middle-schoolers.
Although I rolled my eyes a little at the idea of the 'hated orphan' aspect, it didn't bother me terribly. Again, the basic idea seemed pretty good, but once we got into the war between the wish-fullfillers and the nightmare handlers, I couldn't wait to be done with the book.
The great war came from nowhere, but even more so was the idea that our hero was better at a weapon like a boomerang than any of the fairy folk who trained with the weapon. There was no lead up to this, no hint, no forshadowing (couldn't he have been playing with a boomerang in the fron yard of the orphanage when he first got yelled at?). And the attempt at creating a friendly rival not only came from nowhere, the rivalry fizzled out early and was a waste of time.
I had hoped to find a book that would keep my kids interested, but I think this one would intsult their intelligence.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
SHAKESPEARE'S SECRET -- Elise Broach
Scholastic, Inc. -- tpb
New York -- ©2007
ISBN: 0439930170
When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin-just much ado about nothing?
#####
I was very 'into' this book ... I kept wanting to read the next chapter, which suggests to me that it was certainly well written. I'm not always an easy mark.
Hero, the lead character's name, struck me as a very normal, intelligent, young girl -- self-obsessed with her own little misery at being the new kid and with an odd name, but young enough to take advice from parents and teachers. Danny, the older, cool boy who seems to take a liking to Hero, also comes across as quite real. A bit of an enigma, he's popular but doesn't try to be. He's got some troubles, which he shares with Hero, but not with his posse of friends. Those troubles (an absent mom and a police chief father who tends to give him too much leeway) strike the reader as very real.
The mystery in the book, the search for a hidden object and what that object might imply, becomes a little heavy-handed. Hero and Danny find the object almost without difficulty, despite the police searching the place from top to bottom on more than one occassion. How convenient.
One thing that I didn't like ...
**WARNING >>> SPOILER ALERT >>>**
...was the author's suggesting, rather strongly, that William Shakespeare didn't write the plays attributed to him, but rather another historical figure of the era.
I know this is a popular theme, and many scholarly books have been written about this, but it annoys me more than a little bit that we plant this suggestion in the minds of our youth, whom we still want to have read Shakespeare.
As to the Shakespeare controversy itself, I've never held to the theory that the man couldn't have written those plays because he was so poorly educated and came from such a poor background. That theory doesn't sit well with me. Genius can come about in many forms and out of nowhere. If Albert Einstein hadn't lived in an era when things were so well documented, we might certainly believe that he couldn't possibly have come up with the brilliant theories that he did. He was a poor immigrant who failed at math in his elementary school years. How could he possibly have such brilliant theories later in life? So too with Shakespeare.
Fortunately, the author does write a note at the end of the book about the Shakespeare theories, which is nice, but when the author asks, directly "What do I think?" she cops out and answers to both, one as historian and one as novelist.
I say let's take the Shakespeare 'reality theories' out of the elementary and middle schools and focus on the writing by that author known as Shakespeare.
New York -- ©2007
ISBN: 0439930170
When Hero starts sixth grade at a new school, she's less concerned about the literary origins of her Shakespearean name than about the teasing she's sure to suffer because of it. So she has the same name as a girl in a book by a dusty old author. Hero is simply not interested in the connections. But that's just the thing; suddenly connections are cropping up all over, and odd characters and uncertain pasts are exactly what do fascinate Hero. There's a mysterious diamond hidden in her new house, a curious woman next door who seems to know an awful lot about it, and then, well, then there's Shakespeare. Not to mention Danny Cordova, only the most popular boy in school. Is it all in keeping with her namesake's origin-just much ado about nothing?
#####
I was very 'into' this book ... I kept wanting to read the next chapter, which suggests to me that it was certainly well written. I'm not always an easy mark.
Hero, the lead character's name, struck me as a very normal, intelligent, young girl -- self-obsessed with her own little misery at being the new kid and with an odd name, but young enough to take advice from parents and teachers. Danny, the older, cool boy who seems to take a liking to Hero, also comes across as quite real. A bit of an enigma, he's popular but doesn't try to be. He's got some troubles, which he shares with Hero, but not with his posse of friends. Those troubles (an absent mom and a police chief father who tends to give him too much leeway) strike the reader as very real.
The mystery in the book, the search for a hidden object and what that object might imply, becomes a little heavy-handed. Hero and Danny find the object almost without difficulty, despite the police searching the place from top to bottom on more than one occassion. How convenient.
One thing that I didn't like ...
**WARNING >>> SPOILER ALERT >>>**
...was the author's suggesting, rather strongly, that William Shakespeare didn't write the plays attributed to him, but rather another historical figure of the era.
I know this is a popular theme, and many scholarly books have been written about this, but it annoys me more than a little bit that we plant this suggestion in the minds of our youth, whom we still want to have read Shakespeare.
As to the Shakespeare controversy itself, I've never held to the theory that the man couldn't have written those plays because he was so poorly educated and came from such a poor background. That theory doesn't sit well with me. Genius can come about in many forms and out of nowhere. If Albert Einstein hadn't lived in an era when things were so well documented, we might certainly believe that he couldn't possibly have come up with the brilliant theories that he did. He was a poor immigrant who failed at math in his elementary school years. How could he possibly have such brilliant theories later in life? So too with Shakespeare.
Fortunately, the author does write a note at the end of the book about the Shakespeare theories, which is nice, but when the author asks, directly "What do I think?" she cops out and answers to both, one as historian and one as novelist.
I say let's take the Shakespeare 'reality theories' out of the elementary and middle schools and focus on the writing by that author known as Shakespeare.
Monday, July 05, 2010
AMERICAN ON PURPOSE -- Craig Ferguson
HarperCollins -- tpb
New York -- (c)2009 -- 304pp
ISBN: 0061998494
The subtitle "Improbable Adventures" actually understates the skittish life path of this book's author. Late, Late Show host Craig Ferguson was born in Glasgow, where he walked mean streets, performed in a punk band called Bastards from Hell, and appeared in alternative comedy clubs as Bing Hitler. From those unremunerative enterprises, he lurched into temporary occupations as a construction worker, a bouncer, and a bartender. In that last job, he seemed to have found his true tragic calling. He became his own best customer, rapidly lapsing into a downward spiral of alcohol and drugs that nearly killed him. Somehow he not only survived and recovered; he found a new career, a new country, and a new sense of purpose. Heartfelt, fun, and inspiring.
#####
Like millions of others, I'm a tremendous fan of Ferguson's Late, Late Night talk show. His off-the-cuff humor is brilliant and his interviews are unlike any other talk show hosts'. And so, I was really looking forward to his book, which didn't disappoint, but wasn't the "wow, zing, bang" book I was looking for.
While there are definitely traces of his humor throughout ... and if you know Ferguson, you'll definitely be able to read some of this work picturing and hearing him deliver it ... for the most part I thought this book was a slightly maudlin. It was a serious, honest (some would say "open") look at a life that wasn't rosy, though for no particular reason other than that he's always seemed to prefer adventure over stability. There's nothing wrong with this, but it's not the Craig Ferguson we've come to know and love on television.
Some might argue that this is the whole point of the autobiography ... to show us who he really is, that what we see on television isn't the real person. I understand this, but there's just enough in the book to lead us to think that who we see on Late, Late Nightis Craig Ferguson, and at the same, time, the book doesn't deliver that Craig Ferguson. Just look at that cover and tell me you're not expecting some fun, whacky humor.
If you like Ferguson, read the book. He's led an interesting and most definitely a charmed life. If you don't know who he is, this probably won't mean a thing to you.
New York -- (c)2009 -- 304pp
ISBN: 0061998494
The subtitle "Improbable Adventures" actually understates the skittish life path of this book's author. Late, Late Show host Craig Ferguson was born in Glasgow, where he walked mean streets, performed in a punk band called Bastards from Hell, and appeared in alternative comedy clubs as Bing Hitler. From those unremunerative enterprises, he lurched into temporary occupations as a construction worker, a bouncer, and a bartender. In that last job, he seemed to have found his true tragic calling. He became his own best customer, rapidly lapsing into a downward spiral of alcohol and drugs that nearly killed him. Somehow he not only survived and recovered; he found a new career, a new country, and a new sense of purpose. Heartfelt, fun, and inspiring.
#####
Like millions of others, I'm a tremendous fan of Ferguson's Late, Late Night talk show. His off-the-cuff humor is brilliant and his interviews are unlike any other talk show hosts'. And so, I was really looking forward to his book, which didn't disappoint, but wasn't the "wow, zing, bang" book I was looking for.
While there are definitely traces of his humor throughout ... and if you know Ferguson, you'll definitely be able to read some of this work picturing and hearing him deliver it ... for the most part I thought this book was a slightly maudlin. It was a serious, honest (some would say "open") look at a life that wasn't rosy, though for no particular reason other than that he's always seemed to prefer adventure over stability. There's nothing wrong with this, but it's not the Craig Ferguson we've come to know and love on television.
Some might argue that this is the whole point of the autobiography ... to show us who he really is, that what we see on television isn't the real person. I understand this, but there's just enough in the book to lead us to think that who we see on Late, Late Nightis Craig Ferguson, and at the same, time, the book doesn't deliver that Craig Ferguson. Just look at that cover and tell me you're not expecting some fun, whacky humor.
If you like Ferguson, read the book. He's led an interesting and most definitely a charmed life. If you don't know who he is, this probably won't mean a thing to you.
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